'90 GT Outlaw - Thrill Rider

Thrill Rides Are Nothing New To Billy Driscoll And His Super Street Outlaw Racer

Michael JohnsonAssociate Editor

October 1, 2007

Horse Sense: Billy Driscoll prides himself on using local shops when possible to make his Outlaw dreams come true. The majority of work done on his GT was performed by local Tampa Bay area, which has long been known to be a hotbed for Mustang performance and fabrication shops.

As a ride technician at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Billy Driscoll is used to wild rides. You might have never heard of Busch Gardens because the mouse usually draws most of the Central Florida attention. But if you seek wild rides, Busch Gardens is the place to go. Located near Florida's West Coast, the park features a variety of hurl-inducing roller coasters that guarantee a wild time. That's where Billy, along with his brother Rob, do their best to ensure lunch makes a return appearance.

What Billy and Rob do away from their everyday grind isn't much different. They've turned Billy's daily driver into this Super Street Outlaw screamer.

"The journey with this car has been a long and frustrating one," Billy says. Anyone who has owned a Mustang knows it's easier to find the nearest cliff and give it a good push. Fortunately-except for a few at Busch Gardens-cliffs are few and far between in Florida. "We've faced many ups and downs, each bringing with them lessons learned," Billy says.

Unlike many of the Super Street Outlaw cars in existence today that started out as bodies-in-white, Billy's '90 GT grew up in the streets. After years of street duty, he got the itch to race on a more professional level, so he began racing at Tampa-area tracks in stock-suspension classes. "From there I only wanted to go faster and faster," he says. Eventually, performance upgrades included a DFI with a nitrous fogger system. After attending an NMRA event at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Billy realized his GT was no longer competitive. "I decided to completely overhaul my car and motor."

Ever since attending his first NMRA event, the car has been through many transitions. Thanks to NBS Fabrications, it transformed from a stock suspension car to a ladder-bar-suspended 25.5C chassis. An introduction to Hellion Power Systems' John Urist resulted in a power adder switch to a turbocharged combination. From there, Billy purchased a Ford Racing Performance Parts R302 block for Nelson Competition to build into a formidable turbo combination. Once the Livernois Motorsports-ported Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads and Nelson Competition-ported Super Victor intake were in place, the GT went back to NBS Performance and Fabrication for intercooler fitment and header fabrication.

With the drivetrain complete and to make the GT look the part of a race car, Billy took it to Unique Auto Styles in Largo, Florida, for the custom paint scheme using Dupont Chromabase and House of Kolors paints. He and Rob then performed the car's final assembly before the GT made its debut at the NMRA's '07 Bradenton opener. The new-car issues that plague even the most seasoned racer also caught up with Billy, prematurely ending his race weekend. An upgraded turbo from Turbo People and extensive Sunshine State testing should reward Billy with improved times.

Once the mechanical and chassis work were complete, Billy took the car to Wayne and Greg at Unique Auto Styles in Largo, Florida. The painting duo added Dupont Chromabase blue with House of Kolors silver graphics over the stock body outfitted with a Kaenen 5-inch cowl hood and an Applied Racing Technology rear wing. We love the Weld Racing Alumastar 2.0 wheels with Champion bead locks out back to keep the Mickeys firmly planted. The wheelie bars are an extension of NBS Performance and Fabrication's 25.5C chassis and ladder bar suspension system.

Billy Driscoll turned to Nelson Competition [(727) 321-5756] to build the powerplant necessary to compete in the NMRA's Super Street Outlaw, among other 10.5-inch Outlaw classes. Based on a Ford Racing Performance Parts R302 block, Kris Nelson filled with an LA Enterprises Kryptonite billet-steel 3.350-inch stroke crankshaft, GRP aluminum connecting rods, Ross pistons, and Total Seal piston rings. The 352ci mill plays host to a Hellion Power Systems-spec Cam Motion grind, Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads ported by Livernois Motorsports, and a Nelson Competition-ported Edelbrock Super Victor intake. The Super Victor is also prepped for fuel injection and features Bosch 160-lb/hr injectors, Young's Performance fuel rails, and a 90mm elbow, playing host to an Accufab throttle body. Prior to this writing, Billy had received a Turbo People-modified 94mm turbo with intercooling from a Spearco air-to-water unit plumbed by NBS Performance and Fabrication.

5.0 Tech Specs

ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN

Strange Engineering spool and 35-spline

Block

axles, 3.55 gears

FRPP R302

ELECTRONICS

Bore

Engine Management

4.{{{100}}}-in

FAST system w/datalogger

Stroke

Ignition

3.350-in

MSD Digital 7, HVC2 coil, Super Conductor

Displacement

8.5mm spark plug wires, NGK spark plugs

352ci

Gauges

Rotating Assembly

Auto Meter

L.A. Enterprises Kryptonite billet-steel

crankshaft, GRP aluminum connecting

SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS

rods, Ross pistons, Total Seal piston

FRONT SUSPENSION

rings

K-Member

Compression Ratio

UPR Products

9.0:1

Control Arms

Camshaft

UPR Products w/Racecraft dropped spindles

Cam Motion Custom grind, John Urist

Springs

specs, Crower solid-roller lifters

QA1

Heads

Struts

Edelbrock Victor Jr., Livernois

Strange Engineering adjustable

Motorsports-ported, 2.13/1.{{{62}}} valves,

Caster/Camber

T&D 1.6 ratio roller rockers, Comp

BBK

Cams valve-springs

Brakes

Intake

Aerospace Components 4-piston system

Edelbrock Victor, Nelson Competition-

Wheels

ported, Young's Performance 90mm

Weld Racing Alumastar 2.0

elbow

Tires

Throttle Body

Mickey Thompson Front Runner

Accufab 90mm

REAR SUSPENSION

Power Adder

Springs

Turbonetics 94mm single turbo, Turbo

QA1

People-prepped, Spearco 4-core

Shocks

'cooler, 34 lbs of boost, AMS boost

QA1 double-adjustable

controller

Rear Suspension

Fuel System

NBS Performance and Fabrication ladder

Weldon 2035 fuel pump, Russell

bar setup

-10 feed/-8 return fuel lines, Young's

Brakes

Performance fuel rails, Bosch 160-lbs/hr

Aerospace Components 4-piston system

fuel injectors, Weldon fuel pressure

Wheels

regulator

Weld Racing Alumaster 2.0, Champion

Exhaust

bead locks

MBS Fabrication headers using Kooks

Tires

merge collectors, single 5-in dump

Mickey Thompson ET drag slicks. 28x10.5-in

Transmission

Chassis Stiffening

CRT-built Powerglide using a JW

NBS Performance and Fabrication 25.5C

bellhousing, case, and tall shaft:

chassis and rollcage

PTC 5,000 stall converter B&{{{M}}} Pro

Stick Shifter

Rearend

NBS Fabrication fortified 8.8,

A converted street car, Billy's GT features an NBS Performance and Fabrication's 25.5C chassis, including a funny car-style 'cage. He and his brother, Rob, performed the car's final assembly, taking every step to ensure a clean install of all electronic components and mechanical devices, which Billy says gets compliments from his racing peers-and us, too. He views a plethora of Auto Meter gauges from the comforts of a JAZ Products racing seat while he clicks the CRT Transmissions-built Powerglide into high gear via a B&M Pro Stick shifter.

Besides the people and shops we've already told you about, Billy (right) wants to thank Wayne Young from Young's Perfor-mance, CRT Transmis-sions, Innovative Racing, PTC converters, Real Speed Racing, Aerospace Com-ponents, Rick Garry, Frank Inturrisi, and Earl Whoolery. "I would also like to thank Laurie Allegretto for always getting it done, my brother Rob [left] for all the late nights and hard work, and last but not least, my supportive wife, Patty," Billy says. With the help of all these people and manufacturers, Billy hopes to take his wild ride into the seven-second zone, into the thick of Super Street Outlaw's 10-Inch-Tire Freak Show.